Ultimately, we measure ourselves against our own ideas of idealism and perfection, and we don't always come very close to them.
Joyce Carol OatesNovels usually evolve out of 'character.' Characters generate stories, and the shape of a novel is entirely imagined but should have an aesthetic coherence.
Joyce Carol OatesWriting allows for fictitious voices - the voices of persons unlike myself - that might otherwise be muted.
Joyce Carol Oates